Loganair provides lift-off for six community renewables projects

The UK’s largest regional airline, Loganair, has announced the latest winners of its groundbreaking GreenSkies Community Fund, with six projects across the UK sharing just over £27,500 (approx. USD 33,194.42 ) in support of local renewable energy projects.

The successful applicants span the length and breadth of Loganair’s domestic network, from Unst, in Shetland to the New Forest, on the south-central coast of England, via Isle of Man.

A solar-powered robot lawnmower, EV charging points and ground source heating are among the renewables solutions that will be funded by Loganair to help local organisations cut carbon emissions and reduce their energy bills.

The GreenSkies Community Fund is part of Loganair’s environmental programme, which includes measures ranging from carbon offsetting to investing in future flight technologies to help achieve an ambitious target of becoming net zero by 2040.

The second round of the scheme, which closed at the end of October 2022, brings to £57,500 the amount invested by Loganair in community renewables.

This year’s winners are:

• Glansin Glass Visitor Centre, in Unst, Shetland, which obtained £4,043 to support the installation of EV charging, supporting sustainable tourism and also creating a new renewables asset for the local community;
• The Supporters of the Curraghs Wildlife Park, in Isle of Man, which was awarded £5,000 to install solar power to heat its Discovery Hut used by volunteers who help run the wetland reserve and animal sanctuary;
• Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust, near Newcastle, which won £5,000 to provide EV charging at the Linskill Centre, a leading North Shields community hub serving disadvantaged groups including young people and low-income families;
• Northumbria Gliding Club, located west of Newcastle, which needed £5,000 to adopt a solar array and battery storage system that will reduce the volunteer-run organisation’s emissions and its energy bills;
• St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, in Southampton, founded to promote and preserve the New Forest, which secured £5,000 to assist with the installation of a ground source heat pump and heat a key exhibition room;
• Strathaven Airfield, in Lanarkshire, received £3,500 for a second solar powered robot mower to maintain its runway and enhance its sustainability strategy.

Luke Lovegrove, chief commercial officer at Loganair, said: “Congratulations to each of the very worthy winners of our latest GreenSkies Community Fund grants. Their innovative plans to introduce renewable energy will have a positive impact on local communities as well as the environment.

“As an airline, we are at the forefront of driving forward new technologies to mitigate the impact of flying and progress our target of becoming net zero by 2040. It means a great deal to also take the lead in communities across our network and support their ambitions to reduce carbon emissions as well as tackle energy bills.”

Loganair’s GreenSkies programme was launched in July 2021 with the introduction of a small mandatory carbon offsetting charge levied on all flights, with the money invested in accredited offsetting schemes.

The airline is involved in a wide range of additional initiatives to manage and mitigate the environmental impact of flying and is the only UK regional carrier participating in the UK Government’s “Jet Zero Council” initiative to de-carbonise air travel.